Woman denied access to BioMarin drug finds another supplier

A Texas woman with ovarian cancer denied access by BioMarin Pharmaceutical to one of its experimental treatments has found another company to supply her with a similar drug.

Andrea Sloan announced in a press release, "The drug I am receiving is from the same class of breakthrough therapies I was initially pursuing and my world-renown doctors are confident in its ability to be effective."

The company supplying the drug has chosen to remain anonymous, she said. Sloan, 45, has exhausted other treatment options.

Sloan's doctors had advised her that the drug with the greatest potential to help her is poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor BMN 673, which is owned by BioMarin. The San Rafael-based company is currently conducting clinical trials to gauge the drug's effectiveness in treating both ovarian and breast cancer; early results have been promising.

Drugs that are still being tested can be used legally under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "compassionate use" policy. BioMarin, however, refused Sloan's request for compassionate use saying that the drug was too experimental to be used safely.

Sloan made it clear she was willing to assume the risk and waged a vigorous social media campaign to get BioMarin to change its mind. A petition drive on Change.org has collected more than 216,000 signatures, including those of former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, singer Wynonna Judd, basketball star Squeaky Johnson and actresses Constance Zimmer, Ally Sheedy and Kathy Bates.

And urged on by their constituents, several congressmen, including Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, tried to intervene on Sloan's behalf.

But BioMarin remained adamant.

In the press release, Sloan is quoted as saying, "We have started a national dialogue about the need to institute meaningful change not only in the way that individual pharmaceutical companies implement and grant compassionate use of pre-approved medications in rare circumstances, but also in the way that the system works to get drugs to market as quickly as possible while ensuring that they are safe.

"I hope my case can serve as an example of the need for meaningful reform," Sloan said, "especially to BioMarin, who has proven itself to be the poster child for what's wrong with the system."